Canada's Municipal Nominee Program (MNP) is a regional economic immigration program for local communities, chambers of commerce and local labour councils to directly sponsor permanent immigrants to move to their community. Newcomer sponsorship is expected to be employer-driven to fill local labour needs. Local communities will recruit immigrants based on matching their skills to community job needs. With the guarantee of a job and community support to help newcomers integrate into the community, labour market experts anticipate immigrants will want to move to Canada's smaller cities and towns.
Following the October 2019 elections, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructed Canada's new Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino in a mandate letter to oversee IRCC's MNP pilot program. At an August 31 meeting in Atlantic Canada, Mendicino promised local community leaders that the federal government will release an immigration plan for 2021 and beyond in the fall, and said:
“Each and every one of them has seen the positive impact that immigration has delivered to their communities in the short term throughout the pandemic.
But they also have a vision that immigration will continue to be an accelerator of our economic recovery, creating more jobs, as well as long-term prosperity, and reflect the great diversity of who we are as Canadians.”
Municipal Nominee Program Key Points
To attract immigrants to their community anticipated key features of the MNP are:
- There will be a minimum of 5,000 spaces per year available for the new immigration program
- Reduce the permanent residence physical presence requirement to 3 years in the last 5, down from the current 4-years in the last 6 requirement
- Make it free for permanent residents to apply for citizenship – it currently costs $630 to apply
Provincial Nominee Program
To encourage applications for Permanent Residence from people with skilled abilities, education and work experience that will contribute to the Canadian economy, Canada currently has a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), which allows workers who have the skills, education and work experience to immigrate and contribute to the economy of a specific province or territory. Each province or territory has its own specific immigration procedures.
PNP and Express Entry
If you apply under Canada's Express Entry Program, you must meet the individualized requirements of the province or territory, get a nomination in that Express Entry stream, submit an Express Entry profile (proving you are eligible), and also meet one of the immigration program requirements that are aligned with Express Entry.
Regional and municipal immigration programs are important to attract skilled newcomers to Canada's rural areas and smaller cities.
Learn More:
- Canada's New Pilot Program to Attract Skilled Immigrants to Rural Regions
- Canada's New Agri-Food Immigration Pilot for Permanent Residence
- Canada Extends Atlantic Immigration Pilot To 2021
Do You Want To Move To Canada?
If you have questions about your eligibility to move to Canada and your ability to cross borders seamlessly on business, contact Ackah Law today at (587) 602-0343 Ext. 100 or 1-800-932-1190 or email contact@ackahlaw.com.
